Page 48 of September (New Orleans #9)

“S he’s going to be gone for weeks?” Logan asked as she and Gwen hefted a bag from the hardware store up into the van.

“She’ll be home on the weekends,” Gwen replied. “But, yeah… At least, it’s not forever.”

“That’s true. I don’t know what I’d do if Rory were gone all the time.”

“Or Elisa,” Myra added as she hopped up into the van. “Especially since we just started dating, like you and Juliet. That has to be hard.”

“Yeah, but it’s harder on her. She hates it, and Carly is here.

I mean, she’ll be with me, which is good for Carly, but Jules will be on her own there, so that sucks.

At least, it’s just through October now and maybe a little into November, but hopefully not.

She leaves tomorrow for five days, and it’s an eight-hour drive, so she won’t be back until late Friday night since she has to teach a four-hour class Friday morning. ”

“She should just stay until Saturday,” Logan suggested.

“She didn’t want to be gone another night. She already leaves again on Monday. They got it all worked out so that this will be over soon, and I can’t wait.” Gwen smiled.

“And when do you want this thing up and running?” Myra asked her, pulling items out of one of the bins they’d carried in.

“November,” she replied. “I’m giving myself October to get it put together and get clients scheduled. I’ve already got my pricing worked out, and the website is almost ready. It’ll be bare bones at first, but I’ll add more to it later.”

“We can have this all done in a week or so,” Logan replied. “I can have all the plumbing work done this weekend, if you want, while Rory and Candace are busy doing some wedding planning thing with Linden and Asher.”

“Elisa’s going to that, too,” Myra shared.

“She is?” Logan asked.

“She’s working for Asher and Linden now,” Myra said. “Assistant work, mainly, but she seems excited about it, and she’s thinking about going back to school part-time, too.”

“That’s cool,” Logan replied. “Do you think they’ll basically plan everyone’s weddings now? Rory and me, you and Elisa, and Gwen and Juliet, if you all want to do that.”

“ Gwen and Jules have been dating for a few weeks, so let’s table that conversation for a long while,” Gwen replied with a laugh.

“Enid and Caroline seem pretty solid, though. I don’t know if they’d want to get married one day. Maybe,” Logan said. “Oh, and there’s Jodie and Viv.”

“Plus, Jill and Willa,” Gwen added. “They seem crazy about each other.”

“And Bryce and Sophie. I know Bryce needs to move here still, but they’re totally getting hitched one day. Next year is my guess, or maybe the year after,” Logan said.

“If Asher and Linden are planning everyone else’s weddings, who’s going to plan theirs ?” Myra asked.

“Maybe Elisa, if she sticks with the job there,” Gwen suggested.

“Could be,” Myra agreed with a nod.

“They’ll probably hire the woman they used to work for,” Logan noted.

“Oh, I guess they could,” Myra said.

“Damn. That’s crazy, huh?” Gwen asked.

“What?” Logan and Myra asked at the same time.

“That Melinda and Kyle and Bridgette and Monica are getting married next year, and we’re now talking about a lot of other weddings that might be right behind them.”

“I’m not proposing this year,” Logan replied. “I might on our one-year anniversary or Rory’s birthday. She probably won’t expect it on her birthday. I go back and forth about it: waiting until we’ve been together for a lot longer or just going for it because it feels right.”

“What about you? How would you propose to Elisa?” Gwen asked Myra.

“Elisa is not even one-hundred-percent sure she wants to get married again, and I don’t know that I care about that, either,” Myra replied.

“I love her. I’ll marry her whenever she wants if she wants it, but we’ve both been married before, and we’re just taking things as they come right now.

Besides, at the rate Adele and Wendy are going, we might be planning their wedding before ours. ”

“What? They’re eighteen,” Gwen said, laughing.

“I know, but they love each other. Plus, they’ve known one another since they were kids.

They went to kindergarten together all the way through high school, and it was a small school, so they were already close.

I don’t know if it’s going to last forever, but the way Adele talks about her, you’d think Wendy hangs the moon. ”

“What about my nephew?” Gwen asked. “I have not heard from him recently.”

“He’s focused on soccer, not girls, according to him, and I think that’s great because he has goals. He wants to transfer to a better soccer school next year, and he’s picked a major.”

“He did? Since when?”

“Yesterday,” Myra replied. “Elisa told me he wants to be in construction management.”

“That’s what you do,” Logan said.

Myra smiled and replied, “I know.”

They continued unpacking their items, and Myra helped ensure the shelving rack was securely attached to the van and wouldn’t fall down on anyone or anything.

Logan measured and scrolled through her phone, searching for the proper sink and materials before she then ordered and told Gwen she’d pick them up for her tomorrow.

When they finished, Gwen took them to Candace’s and bought them each a beer.

Later, Rory and Elisa showed up and drove their girlfriends home just as Juliet arrived and sat across from her.

“So, how was your day?” Gwen asked.

“Great,” Juliet said and took a sip of Gwen’s beer. “Are you ready to go home?”

“Yes,” she replied. “I’m a little drunk.”

“I know, babe. That’s why I’m here. I took the bus so that I could drive your car. Your place or mine?”

“Yours,” Gwen replied. “It’s your last night at home, and that’s where Carly is.”

“You’ll take her tomorrow morning, though, right?”

“Sure,” Gwen said and finished her beer. “Let me just pay for this, and we can go.”

“Okay.”

Gwen walked up to the bar, where she spotted Candace and her fiancé, Keith.

“Hey, just need to pay up,” she said to her.

“Seven beers?” Candace checked after looking at the computer.

“I’m paying for Logan and Myra, too,” she replied and handed Candace her credit card.

“Oh. I was about to ask if you could touch your finger to your nose and insist on getting you a cab.”

“No need,” Juliet said as she approached from behind her and wrapped her arms around Gwen’s waist. “She’s got me, her own personal chauffeur.”

“And I don’t have to tip her in cash,” Gwen joked.

Juliet laughed and said, “She’s a little tipsy.”

“Seems so,” Candace replied and handed Gwen back her credit card. “I gave you Logan’s discount.”

“Shit. Really? Thanks,” Gwen said.

“No problem.” Candace looked beyond her to Juliet. “Get her home safely.”

“I will. I have a vested interest in her safety,” Juliet said and kissed Gwen’s neck. “You ready, tipsy?”

“I have a vested interest in your safety,” Gwen replied.

“I know, baby,” Juliet said and moved to take Gwen’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

The drive home was a mostly quiet one. Gwen was beginning to sober up, and she suspected that neither of them wanted to say anything because they knew what tomorrow would bring.

Juliet would be gone from Monday to late Friday night.

Then, she’d leave again the following Monday and wouldn’t be home until the following Saturday morning.

The third week of travel would take her on a shorter trek, but she would still be gone Monday through Friday.

Then, the final trip of the month would be Juliet leaving on a Sunday night flight and not back until Friday morning.

It would be hard on her , but Gwen knew it would be even harder for Juliet because she wouldn’t be at home in her own bed with her dog and her girlfriend.

Gwen only hoped that her little surprise would help Juliet get through it.

When they got to Juliet’s apartment, they first had to take Carly out, which Juliet did because while Gwen was sobering up, she wasn’t completely sober yet. Soon, though, the dog was lying in her bed, softly snoring, and they were sitting on the sofa together, watching nothing on TV.

“Hey, I know it’s our last night, and we should probably have sex because I’ll be too tired on Friday, when I get back, and we’d only have Saturday and Sunday night together before–”

“Babe?” Gwen said, interrupting her.

“Yeah?” Juliet asked, already sounding too exhausted, and the travel hadn’t even begun.

“We don’t have to have sex just because you’re leaving tomorrow,” Gwen replied as Juliet took her hand and moved it into her lap.

“I want to,” Juliet said. “You know that, right? I always want to.”

“I always want to, too,” she replied, resting her head on Juliet’s shoulder. “But you’re tired, and I’m tired. I also talked to my mom again today, which makes it three times in the past couple of weeks, which is a record for me. I’m ready for bed, too.”

“She still wants to meet me?”

“She does,” Gwen said. “And I told her to cool it until at least November or December, but expect an invitation for Christmas dinner, which reminds me that Bridgette and Monica invited us to their wedding. It’s next year, so not tomorrow or anything to worry about, but I keep forgetting to tell you. ”

Juliet kissed the top of Gwen’s head and noted, “I like that you’re planning for me to be around for all that stuff.”

“You’re stuck with me now, Juliet Francis,” she said, still feeling the alcohol a little.

“Good. I want to be. I just wish I’d been able to figure a way out of this travel, too, but things had been booked already, so it would’ve cost an arm and a leg to cancel everything.”

“It’s probably only a month, in the grand scheme of things.

We’ll be fine. And you have the end of the month to look forward to.

A light at the end of the tunnel now. That’s a big deal.

Plus, you managed to save your company money while getting yourself another raise.

That’s got to be a record. Two raises in a few weeks. ”

Juliet chuckled and said, “I can now pay someone else to walk Carly when you’re busy with the van.”

Gwen lifted her head and replied, “Don’t you dare. I’m never too busy to take care of her. She’s yours, Jules. She’s like me.” She smiled at Juliet. “I’m yours, too.”

Juliet leaned in and pressed her lips to Gwen’s.

“You’re really cute when you’re drunk.”

“Tipsy,” she corrected. “And I’m sobering up.”

“Bummer. I was kind of hoping you’d stay this way for the rest of the night.”

“You’ll have to get more alcohol in me, then, which I don’t recommend,” she replied and moved into Juliet’s lap, straddling her hips.

“Why not? It could be fun,” Juliet said as her hands landed on Gwen’s hips.

“Because you want me to wake up early tomorrow.”

“I do?” Juliet lifted an eyebrow. “Morning sex before I leave?”

“Happily. But that’s not what I meant.”

Gwen wrapped her arms around Juliet’s neck.

“What did you mean, then?”

“Well, you might want me to be sober and not hungover for the drive tomorrow.”

“What drive?” Juliet asked, rubbing Gwen’s thighs. “Are you planning on being on the phone with me the whole time I’m on my way to the hotel?”

Gwen shook her head and replied, “I was planning on being next to you and then driving so that you could take a break.”

Juliet’s eyes widened, and she asked, “What?”

“I’m coming with you this week, if that’s okay with you.”

“You’re–” Juliet shook her head. “What? Really?”

“Yes. If you want,” Gwen replied.

“I do want, but you can’t. You have work.”

“Logan can’t work on the van until the weekend, and Myra has her actual job during the week, too. Besides, I’ve got calls to make, a website to improve, and more work than I can handle to get this thing set up. I can do that from the hotel.”

“You’re really coming with me?”

“Just for this trip. The shorter one, I can maybe come for a day or two and bring Carly.”

“Carly! Shit.”

“She’s coming, too, babe,” Gwen said. “Did you think I would come without her? I’ll be in the room with her. And I checked online: this hotel allows dogs. We have to pay a fee, but I thought you’d be okay with that.”

“You’re really…” Juliet smiled, and her hands moved up to Gwen’s neck. “What about your actual job?”

“Everything’s been covered, and Elisa is watching Larry and Gary.”

“I cannot believe you named him Gary.”

“What? It rhymed.”

“He’s a gecko.”

“It was going to be Larry and Linda, but they didn’t have a female. Larry doesn’t seem to mind, though. He and Gary are best friends already.”

Juliet laughed and checked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she replied. “I’m not ready to spend a night without you yet. Truthfully, I’m not sure I’ll ever be, but it’s only three weeks if I’m with you this week, and I can see about the week where it’s a shorter drive.”

“Babe, this is amazing.” Juliet shook her head. “I was really going to miss you. I’ve been packing all night and stopping every five minutes because I just didn’t want to go.”

“We’re codependent now, aren’t we?” Gwen joked.

“No, I think we might just be falling in love a little bit,” Juliet said with a shoulder shrug.

“Oh, just that, huh?” Gwen joked.

“Yeah, no big deal or anything.”

Juliet’s hands pulled Gwen’s face down, and she kissed her.

“Are you sure you’re too tired?” Gwen asked.

“I have coffee and a driving buddy tomorrow, so I can sleep a little on the way if I need to,” Juliet said and pulled at Gwen’s shirt.

“You do have the best coffee.”

“I do , actually, because I picked up the coffee we made together.”

“You did?” Gwen asked, removing her own shirt.

“I got it a while ago, but with everything going on, I forgot about it. I was going to give it to you tomorrow morning before I left; something for you to remember me by.”

“I can remember you by your lips.” Gwen kissed them. “And your hands.” She moved Juliet’s hands to her own hips. “And… other things.”

“Coffee later?” Juliet asked.

“Coffee later,” Gwen replied and kissed her.